Poosey Digest: A new Christmas tradition? Let’s do it!

I seldom turn to husband Herb for advice, but I was flummoxed. “Herb, somebody sent me an email that I think would make a dandy column. Should I just outright steal the idea?”

“No more than folks pay attention to what you write, what’s the difference?”

“But do you think it’s moral to steal somebody else’s ideas?”

“From what I’ve seen of your newspaper stuff you’ve stolen all your best ideas from me anyhow…”

Herb Crump will receive no consulting fees in the future.

But it truly was a great idea so I’ll filch it, fluff it, and expand it a bit. Who knows where these Internet stories start anyway? Some cave in Guatemala, I suspect. The gist of it was this: In the midst of our current economic malaise we need to buy more products made inside our own borders. As more and more jobs are shipped overseas and more and more products sport “Not made in the U.S.” labels there’s a growing trend to look for local goods to buy. So with Christmas already blaring in the pre-turkey stores let me pass along a few of these suggestions before you begin your holiday shopping.

It’s called, “The Birth of a New Tradition.”

Start with the wrapping paper. Most of it is made overseas. Why not get a bit creative and make all your packages stand out under the tree by being wrapped in the comics page of your local newspaper? Maybe drag out your box of magic markers and give your grocery bags a new look? You aren’t being cheap, just patriotic!

Who wouldn’t appreciate a gift certificate from the local barber or hair salon? The good citizens of Taiwan don’t pay taxes to support your local school, but Bill the Barber puts his money right back into your backyard. Who wouldn’t welcome getting their car detailed, the oil changed, their driveway sealed, their lawn groomed or a few free rounds at the local golf course? Again, these are gifts that will benefit the folks who sit beside you in church and cheer for your high school team.

There’s hardly a restaurant that doesn’t offer gift certificates and that includes the mom and pop eateries on a street near you. A day at the spa, a free consultation by an interior decorator, a visit from a top-to-bottom house cleaning team? You’re talking my number, here. And if you’re looking for something more personal, any community will be blessed with its share of local artists, potters, weavers, seamstresses and jewelry makers who’ll be glad to sell you a keepsake more memorable than the ornamental planter you pick up from Sri Lanka.

And let’s be honest… don’t you already have enough plastic Christmas lights stamped out in a Third World sweatshop? Aren’t 10,000 flashing bulbs enough? Have you ever strung a light bulb that meant as much as a nice big Christmas tip for your postman, your garbage collector, the lady who always smiles at you at the checkout, your paper delivery person or your favorite newspaper columnist? Okay, I cheated a bit on that one, but you get the idea.

A few years ago Herb and I purchased a Christmas gift for an old friend. He enjoys good food and even at age 91 is able to eat anything. We arranged with a local cook to bring him a home-cooked food basket every month. Most communities now have catering services or meal preparation businesses that would be glad to make monthly deliveries or pickups with a wide variety of mouth-watering, locally made delicacies.

The cook’s name is Georgia and she lives right here in town. She buys her groceries down at the local market, she shops for clothing in the nearby stores, sends her kids to our neighborhood school, buys her gas down at the locally-owned Fast Stop, pays her property taxes to fix the street that runs in front of my house, washes her car at the closest car wash, eats in our restaurants, buys her postage stamps right down the street from me, sits right beside me at all the local fundraisers, donates to the local chapter of the Red Cross, and if a family suffers a tragedy and needs some help, Georgia will be the first in line. Those few dollars that Herb and I put into this one local Christmas gift starts expanding, increasing and blessing before our check even clears the bank. Compare that to swiping your debit card for a “Made In China” sweater and wrapping it in foreign-made wrapping paper.

A new Christmas tradition? Let’s do it!

You ever in Poosey, stop by. We may not answer the door but you’ll enjoy the trip.